Alphabetical is an ongoing project by photographer Dan Tobin Smith that explores typography and perspective using random materials such as discarded objects, flowers, broken glass, light, wood, even scissors.
Each Letter has a different approach but uses Helvetica as the base typography. Most are temporary installations, some use landscape and some were conceived as primarily moving image (such as Letter T). Every single letter is a unique artwork in its own right. Hundreds of flowers assume the shape of letter S, the letter V is composed of pieces of broken glass and letter U materializes by arranging together countless scissors suspended from the ceiling. Every letter is an impressive display of imagination and creativity, but the whole collection together is just mind-blowing.
The project started in 2005/6 when Creative Review commissioned a Letter A for their Annual. According to the creator “The project makes use of anamorphosis, or distorted projection to create the forms. This is a technique which dates back to the Renaissance and found one of its first uses in photography with an image called “The Human U.S. Shield” made in 1913, which shows a staggering 30,000 officers and men of Camp Cluster forming an enormous U.S. Shield.”
New Letters will be added as they are finished and supporting material including work in progress will be added from time to time.
